Georgians link hands, hearts with 4,500 other volunteers

Joe Westbury

Brian Bullard, right, assistant pastor at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, shares his church's evangelism strategy with SBC President Bobby Welch. The two visited on Saturday morning shortly before the door-to-door Crossover event began in downtown Nashville.

NASHVILLE - Georgia Baptists from at least 25 churches were among those who helped lead nearly 2,000 Tennesseans to faith in Christ during the Crossover Nashville weekend here.

Preliminary estimates of conversions, as of Monday afternoon (June 20), were 1,420 from event evangelism and 455 from door-to-door visitation. Those figures were based on information from 60 out of 100 venues reporting.

An estimated 4,500 volunteers from across the nation poured into the city to share their faith - more than double those attending previous Crossovers.

This year's door-to-door event was coordinated through LifeWay Christian Resources as part of SBC President Bobby Welch's "Everyone Can Kingdom Challenge" evangelism emphasis. While every Crossover has included a door-to-door component, this year's element was given greater visibility through the SBC president's year-long emphasis on personal evangelism.

Joe Westbury

Bret Yaeger, pastor of Grove Level Baptist Church, conducts a strategy session with members of his Dalton congregation outside the Gaylord Entertainment Center where convention sessions were held. Standing to Yaeger's immediate left is his wife, Joyce.

The denomination is using this year's event to launch its goal to lead to Christ and baptize one million individuals in the next 12 months.

Georgia Baptists drove as long as nine hours from the Savannah area to participate in the weekend's events.

Fourteen members of First Baptist Church of Richmond Hill accompanied pastor Keith Joseph to the neighboring state capitol to share their faith with unchurched Tennesseans. The church has just completed its seventh year in the FAITH Sunday School evangelism strategy, Joseph noted as he stood outside the Gaylord Entertainment Complex following the evangelism rally.

One of those members, deacon chairman Jim Parker, was attending his first Crossover out of compassion for those who do not know Christ.

"I believe it's just as important to reach those in other communities as well as those in my own backyard. That's why I'm here today," he said as he prepared to leave Grace Baptist Church in north Nashville for an afternoon of knocking on doors. A dozen members of Grove Level Baptist Church in Dalton also fanned out to share their faith during the weekend. Pastor Bret Yaeger said one young couple from the church, who have been Christians for only two months, led two Nashville residents to Christ on Saturday.

Joe Westbury

First Church of Richmond Hill Deacon Chairman Jim Parker looks over his evangelism packet prior to going door-to-door with team members from Nashville's Grace Baptist Church. The weekend emphasis was Parker's first time to participate in a Crossover event.

"This was our first time to participate in Crossover and it was a real positive event for our members who went with us," he said. "It was exciting for our members to realize that they were 12 of nearly 4,500 who came to Nashville from all over the U.S. to share their faith.

"I think anytime you see that you are part of a much larger group you get an adrenaline boost that lasts for a while. There's just something about being a part of an event like Crossover that carries over to other areas of your life.

"I feel their participation will strengthen our outreach back home," he added.

Brian Bullard, assistant pastor at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, echoed those sentiments. Shortly after he arrived at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on Saturday morning he was sharing with Welch about the church's evangelism program.

"I told him that June is our evangelism emphasis month and we have a goal of winning 30 souls to Christ in 30 days. As of Saturday morning (June 18) we had already won 28 so we expect to surpass our goal before today is out," he said.

Bullard noted that team members won two of those to Christ on Friday even before Crossover officially began.

As volunteers shared Christ in Centennial Park on Saturday, nearly 50 members of Kansas Baptist Church in Waco provided a puppet ministry in an amphitheatre.

Joe Westbury

A puppet ministry team from Kansas Baptist Church in Waco, west of Atlanta, presents a skit in an amphitheatre in Nashville's Centennial Park. As the team performed, others from the church shared Christ with onlookers. Nearly 50 members from the church participated in the Crossover emphasis.

Pastor John Lemmings said he was pleased at the participation level from his church members - 47 who gave their weekend to tell others about their relationship with Christ.

"I've been driving home the fact that all we do is not about enlarging Kansas but it's about enlarging the Kingdom [of God]," he said.

"I believe in our Convention and I want to support it. I think Crossover is one of the best ways I know to introduce our folks to the denomination. It's good for them to see the big picture and to realize that they are part of a huge group of believers."

As updated figures continued to pour in to the Crossover office on Monday afternoon, Welch told Baptist Press "In every way, Crossover Nashville was a success - from the safety and security of all volunteers who were involved to the eternal safety and security of the almost 500 people who found faith in Jesus Christ" through the door-to-door visitation that occurred.

Since Crossover began in Las Vegas in 1989, more than 34,000 persons have prayed to receive Christ and several churches have been started. The largest participation in the annual Crossover campaign was about 2,000 volunteers.

Joe Westbury

Members of Peace Baptist Church conduct their own evangelism pep session as lay minister Richard Moton leads the group. Moton serves as the congregation's evangelism team leader and Sunday School teacher.

Joe Westbury

Before hitting the streets on Saturday morning, members of Peace Baptist Church gathered in prayer with the Nashville skyline in the background.

Joe Westbury

Marty Cooper fields questions from members of Grove Level Baptist Church as they prepare to go door-to-door in Nashville. Pictured to the left of Cooper, minister of evangelism at the Dalton church, is his wife, Cynthia, and daughter Stephanie.